When then-Chico State assistant basketball coach Gus Argenal first met transfer recruit Jay Flores in 2009, he instantly knew the pair shared the same competitive drive.

Now that both are on the same coaching staff at Division II California State East Bay University, East Bay, their intensity has led to a friendly rivalry at team workouts.

“(Flores) is always challenging me, but he still can’t out-bench me,” Argenal said. “He beats me one-on-one, but I still have him in the weight room.”

On the court, though, the two have forged a friendship that only grew stronger this past season. Argenal coached Flores for two seasons from 2009–11 at Chico State, where Flores would eventually develop into the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s Most Valuable Player.

But after a two-year separation, Argenal and Flores reunited in 2013 at East Bay as first-time head coach and assistant coach, respectively. Even though the Pioneers won just seven games this season, the pair hopes their bond can build the foundation for a successful turnaround in Hayward, Calif.

“If I turn out to be half the coach that (Argenal) is, I’ll be good to go in this business,” Flores said. “I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones to have gotten to play for him and get into coaching.”

It all began when Flores decided to transfer from Sonoma State after his freshman season. Argenal recruited him heavily and ultimately convinced him to select Chico State.

Flores had always respected Argenal based on his high school career and track record of success. And once he joined the team, that respect evolved on a personal level.

“He probably was the biggest individual factor in my basketball development,” Flores said. “I knew I wanted to be good, but I didn’t really know how to get there. He had a plan for me.”

The plan worked. Flores finished his tenure at Chico with 387 assists and 137 steals, both third in program history. As a senior, he led the Wildcats to their first CCAA championship and the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

But Argenal wasn’t able to share the experience. He had returned to his alma mater, UC Davis, as an assistant prior to that season.

“I went for a jog, and I was halfway up this hill in the beautiful Santa Barbara hills when I get a call from Jay,” he said. “The team’s yelling out, ‘We’re going to be on ESPN tonight! We just hit a game-winner to go to the championship game!’

“It was tough because you wanted to be there, but I still felt a part of what they were doing.”

After graduating, Flores played one season for Soles de Mexicali of Mexico’s National Professional Basketball League. He said it was always his dream to coach, though, and Argenal knew it.

So when Flores visited Argenal, then an assistant at Rice, during a personal trip to Texas in 2013, Argenal hinted that he might be pursuing a head coaching job elsewhere.

As the interview process began for the California State East Bay opening, Argenal started talking specifics.

“He didn’t even know if he was going to get it or not, so he said, ‘Don’t take a lot of stock in any of this,’” Flores said. “Then once it happened, it took him a while to be able to fill out the staff.”

After speaking to Flores about his time in Mexico, Argenal knew he would be a perfect fit for his staff and made the official offer later in the summer.

Although the team struggled to win games this season, both Argenal and Flores said they were able to get through to players and make personal connections.

Rising sophomore Kyle Frakes said Flores and Argenal are always in the weight room and working out with everyone else, and explained how the team has already bought into their hands-on method.

He even guaranteed the Pioneers will post a winning record by the end of his senior year.

“If there were a coaching staff that could guarantee a turnaround, this is the one,” Frakes said. “They put in so much effort and the whole team has grown very close.”

Argenal and Flores said the team has started to consider itself a family more than a team, and they are each excited about making Frakes’ goal a reality.

“The biggest thing in coaching is you have to trust the person next to you,” Argenal said. “I trust Jay as much as I do anybody.”

Published on March 19, 2014 at 12:24 am

Contact Tyler: tfpiccot@syr.edu